You have to hand it to the UK import Ian McLeod as he sure is revving up Coles supermarkets. The sponsoring of Master Chef and various sequels has helped create a new image. Store refurbishments and keener prices have added to the momentum and to then crash the price of milk is poetry to watch. We needed Coles back and if you want to know why, it's because the profit per dollar that Woolworths pulls in is double that of Coles. Competition will close that gap.

So what can the think tank at Woolworths do? Last year Woolworths replied by celebrating unknown chefs and "commended everyday mums 'without TV shows or book deals'" *. A concept like that is hard to execute and looks weak.

Now I'm astonished to see they have enlisted the brand-name of Margaret Fulton who provides 'Honest to Goodness-Family Meals'. The use of this brand was tried seven or eight years ago with the Margaret Fulton Kitchen stores which didn't work, and it's hard to get enthusiastic about the brands pulling power after that experience. Perhaps the use of Margaret Fulton is only temporary while the marketing department thinks up the killer punch they need.

This grand lady is now 86 and is doing her part to create attention, as reported in the Sunday Telegraph March 6th 2011, by Caroline Marcus;
"As Preston's popularity on MasterChef grew, so did his personality, she said.

"Matt found the inner showman in himself. Now he's found the full showman.

"Matt used to be quite a serious food journalist. He is married into a Melbourne family that's quite conservative, and they couldn't believe what Matt was up to.

"He's a nice person, but he's developing this thing like Bernard King."

Fulton said King, who starred in the cooking show King's Kitchen and died in 2002, had become more rude as his success skyrocketed.

Fulton also ripped into Calombaris and Mehigan.

"Matt had every reason to be self-confident, but they - although they have very successful businesses - aren't as emotionally and mentally intelligent as Matt," she said.

"Now it has become, 'How much is he getting paid? If he's getting that, I want it too."

Great stuff, but may I be unkind and recall a conversation I had with a great chef 30 years ago who commented; "The UK got Elizabeth David and we ended up with Margaret Fulton."

Age may not weary them but is it wise to head up the counter attack with a grandmother image? I do not see it as a believable response to the vibrant appeal of Coles and the crazy food antics on TV. It is far too timid and may have the downside of branding Woolworths as tied and boring.
They could have responded with an aggressive discounting programme targeting vegetables but of course that would never do. This Margaret Fulton idea does not fit well with the fresh food people.

Friday, 20th August, 2004

Thursday, 19th August, 2004

Wednesday, 23rd June, 2004

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